1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to fiber optic illumination of pools, spas, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Reservoirs of water such as pools and spas are commonly constructed with one or more underwater light sources for illuminating the water within the reservoir. The light sources are visually appealing and the illumination of the water allows for safe use of the pool or spa at night. Conventional lighting units are commonly mounted on the wall of the pool or spa, and comprise a watertight housing that contains an incandescent light source. On one side of the housing is an aperture for the power connection to the light source, and on the other side is a lens to scatter, direct or focus the light from the light source. Each lighting unit requires its own mounting hole in the wall of pool or spa and its own power connection. [See Waterway Plastics Inc., xe2x80x9c1999 Product Catalog,xe2x80x9d Spa Products, Page 31].
A number of variations to the conventional pool or spa light have been developed. U.S. Pat. No. 4,617,615 to Eychaner, discloses a pool light that uses a circular fluorescent light bulb instead of an incandescent light source. The bulb is mounted in a fixture that can be retrofitted into or be used as an alternative to existing incandescent pool lights. Its primary advantage is that it is relatively low cost and allows for the replacement of high wattage incandescent bulbs with low wattage fluorescent bulbs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,122,936 to Guthrie, discloses a pool light that can be mounted over a pool""s water extraction conduit. The light includes a watertight chamber that houses a electric light source, the chamber being held away from the pool""s wall by an annular housing member that has several holes. Water passes through the annular housing holes, behind the chamber, and to the extraction conduit. The advantage of this light is that it can illuminate the pool while providing a protective cover over the extraction conduit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,875 to Johnson also discloses a pool light mounted on a gunite pool wall or a vinyl liner pool wall. A double quartz halogen lamp is mounted in a sealed light source cavity with the lamp in a plane parallel to the plane of the pool wall on which the light is mounted. The pool light also includes openings that allow the liquid of the pool to circulate behind the light housing to cool the light.
One of the disadvantages of the above lights is that a separate hole must be created in the wall of the pool or spa for either mounting the light or allowing the light""s power connection to pass through the wall. The greater the number of holes in a pool or spa wall, the greater the danger of water leaking through a hole. Another disadvantage of the above lights is that when an individual light fails, it can be difficult to repair. The process can require lowering the water level to repair the light from the water side of the pool or spa. Alternatively, the light can be accessed from the exterior side of the pool or spa, which can require removing decking, excavating soils and/or cutting through insulation. Also, to change the color of the light the bulb or lens must be changed. For the same reasons, this can be a difficult process.
Another disadvantage is that by having the incandescent, fluorescent or quartz light source close to the water, a short circuit can occur between the light source and the water. This is particularly a problem if there is a crack in the light""s housing. As the number of lights is increased, the total potential current leakage from all the lights increases.
Fiber optic lighting systems have been developed for spas by, among others, Coast Spas located in British Columbia, Canada. The system includes a remote light source and numerous optical fibers directed toward a number of holes in the spa wall. Each hole has a cap to hold one of the optical fibers so that the light emitting from the end of the fiber is directed through the cap and into the water within the spa. Each cap has a transparent lens that disperses or focuses the light from the fiber. A typical spa can have dozens of holes for optical fibers that increase the spals complexity and the chances that the spa will leak.
The present invention provides an improved light for illuminating the water within a pool, spa or other water reservoir, all of which will be referred to collectively as a xe2x80x9cspaxe2x80x9d . The new light combines fiber optic lighting with the spa components. These components include, but are not limited to, jets, returns, drains, and skimmers.
The new light includes a remote light source and guides that carry light from the remote light source to the spa component. One or more probes are mounted within each component with each probe receiving light from a respective guide, the light from the guide passing through the probe and emitting from the front of the respective component.
In one embodiment, the remote light source transmits the light to each probe by a optical fiber with light emitting primarily from the end of each fiber. The probe is elongated and transparent and is inserted and mounted in a hole in the rear of its component. The probe is hollow, open on its back end and closed at its front end. The optical fiber is inserted into the probe through its open end and is housed within the probe terminating at the probe""s closed end. The light from the fiber passes through the end of the probe and emits from the component.
In one spa jet embodiment, the probe is mounted within a hole in the rear of a spa jet, projecting toward the front of the jet along the jet""s longitudinal axis. Near its open end, the probe has axial threads on its outer surface that mate with threads on the hole at the rear of the jet to provide a watertight seal between the two. The probe""s open end opens to the rear of the jet and is accessible when the probe is installed. The optical fiber is inserted into the probe through its open end and held by a metal crimp. The new light has many advantages, one of which is its ability to illuminate the spa without creating additional holes in the spa""s wall. The illumination is provided through the same holes created for the other spa components, i.e. jets, drain, returns, etc. Also, a remote light source is used to provide the light carried by the optical fibers to the spa. There are no light sources near the spa""s water that could short circuit to the spa. Furthermore, if the light source fails, it is easily repaired at its remote location. There is no need to lower the spa""s water level, remove decking, excavate soil, or cut through insulation. Also, it is conventional for fiber optic light sources to contain color wheels that automatically rotate to change the color of light emitted by the optical fibers. The lenses or light sources do not need to be changed to change the color of light emitted from the spa component.
These and further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which: